


A Step Ahead

by witch_lit



Category: Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare, Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec suddenly appears in 1881, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, low-key will/tessa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 02:35:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6220294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witch_lit/pseuds/witch_lit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Alec snaps into an unfamiliar place, he has to figure out where he is. And, of course, what his husband has portaled him into now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Step Ahead

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically me needing to express just how fucking nasty hospitals were in the 1880s (though they were worse before). Not reread for mistakes, sorry.

            The first thing that hits Alec is the smell. The stench of suppuration, rotting flesh, and sewer entrench themselves in his nose. It nearly makes him gag, which is impressive to the seasoned New Yorker. He’d thought there were few smells worse than the baking of urine on a sweltering downtown day.

            The room he’s in sounds like suffering. From his acute left, a particularly painful hacking shakes the entire bed he’s in. As Alec’s eyes focus, he realizes that he’s in a grimy bed with a man caught in a slew of violent coughs. The man’s hands are covered in dark blood, and his skin in nearly translucent under layers of dirt and sweat.

            Alec tries to move away, but another warm body blocks him. The man on his other side moans as Alec looks at him, the stranger’s face chalky as he stares glassily at the ceiling. He smells horribly, more horribly than the man on Alec’s left. His stench must be that rotting flesh smell he’d been catches whiffs of.

            “Poor man’s butcher,” the glassy eyed man says, though he has a strange accent.

            Alec bolts up in his bed (though, with all the strangers in it, is it really his?), panicked. He’s in a tiny room with stagnant air and far too many people. A dozen beds line the brick wall, hardly more than a foot of space between them. Alec’s bed is more moderate in the number of people sharing it—he counts others with five people shoved together in various states of illness.

            Alec takes a quick second to breathe (which he sorely regrets—these people are sick and many of them are coughing), then counts to ten in his head. Everything’s fine. This is normal.

            “Where am I?” Alec asks, spotting a woman a few beds down. She’s using a strange contraption to spray some sort of aerosol on a wound, but she doesn’t look up from her work.

            “Give me a moment,” she says tiredly. Her hands look raw and red in the dim light.

            Alec maneuvers over the feverish man until he’s standing between his bed and the next, the only man standing in a room of filth and sick. He briefly wonders if people ever get out of these beds.

            It occurs to him that he has no idea where he is. Maybe Magnus had him portal over to him, but that’s unlikely. Magnus was on a call, but Alec was watching Max so he should know not to—Max. Oh, Angel. If Alec’s in the middle of this foreign room, who’s with Max? Four year olds aren’t meant to be left alone around the house for long periods of time.

            Not a second thought in his mind, Alec rushes from the room. He races out of the ramshackle building and into… a noisy, crowded street. People look at him oddly, but he’s too preoccupied with the horses and pigs crowding down the cobblestone road. The pigs are running around, often accompanied by a person, eating garbage and being pig-ish. It’s surreal to see pigs in a city.

            Alec’s attention snaps away from the pig infestation as he realizes that the sun is out. He’d left Max in the late evening, there’s no way so much time has passed.

            There are no skyscrapers as Alec looks around. There are just layers of smog and old buildings piled together in ways he’s certain is a safety hazard. There’s no way he’s still in New York.

            Alec’s breath leaves him, and he stands on the doorsteps of the hellhole he’s landed in. A wave of anxiety and panic is threatening to overwhelm him, and he can feel tears of frustration burning just behind his eyes. He reaches for his belt, and nearly sighs in relief. Something familiar. He still has his seraph blades, the only weapon he wears at home, and his stele. He needs to find the nearest Institute and portal home.

            Intent on asking a passerby for directions to the nearest abandoned church, Alec steps into the street. He pauses his pursuit as he hears the shout of a battle and the cry of a Moloch demon. He races toward the sounds, dashing into a shit-encrusted alleyway.

            He misses the smell of New York, which is almost more frightening than the horde of demons attacking a small group of people. Two of the group are attempting to fight against the half dozen Moloch, and though they aren’t loosing any ground, they aren’t gaining any either. Behind the group Alec spots blue flames—a signature of Magnus’s that he would recognize anywhere. Magnus is hunched over a body, likely trying to keep someone alive.

            Alec switches seamlessly into battle mode. He charges one of the demons, quickly pulling a seraph blade out of his belt and muttering “ _Izrafel”_ under his breath. The blade hardly has time to glow before it’s splitting into the oily mass of Moloch demon. Alec slips his ichor-dipped blade out from the demon, quickly mobilizing against a second one. The other people—Shadowhunters, he first assumes—jump at the opportunity, and the stalemate of the battle quickly breaks in their favor.

            Not five minutes later, Alec’s covered in ichor and all of the demons have been successfully dispatched back to Hell. He can’t say anything about the others, but he’s wound-free (Alec wonders if he should tease Jace about how he only gets injured when they’re fighting together when he gets back to his _parabatai_ ).

            Alec steps toward Magnus, whose wide eyes are on him. He supposes he must make for a pretty messy sight, though he’s definitely been worse. “You know I was watching Max, right? I’m glad you asked for help when you needed it but you should have kidnapped Izzy.”

            Magnus’s brow just furrows, and he glances at the man who had been fighting the demons, as if asking him for help. The scene itself is very strange, down to the bareness of Magnus’s face and the lack of shimmer in his attire. That, and that he’s looking at Alec a little bit like he’s from outer space.

            Concerned, Alec takes a step forward. The man, who Alec quickly notes to be a shadowhunter by the runes circling his neck, steps in front of Alec. He’s created a barrier between Magnus and Alec, and that’s not something anyone has been allowed to do since they took their vows.

            The shadowhunter says, “I wouldn’t do that,” like he’s not stepping between Alec and his husband. Something about him is familiar in an infuriating way, and Alec has a very strong urge to smack this man. The dark hair, the intense eyes… Alec can’t quite place it.

            “Is Magnus alright?” Alec frowns. He doesn’t look hurt, from what Alec can see over the man’s shoulder, but looks can be deceiving.

            “Do you know this man, Magnus?” Asks a familiar brown haired woman. Alec’s a little shocked to see her in a situation where fighting and demons are involved.

            “Of course he knows me, Tessa,” Alec says irately. Honestly, she was a woman-of-honor at their wedding.

            Tessa looks unnecessarily shocked, and the shadowhunter growls at him. It’s utterly bizarre, and it’s got Alec starting to worry. It’s not such a big deal for him to be here, is it? Magnus had left for what was supposed to be a small Seelie problem, not… whatever _this_ is.

            “I called for help, but I’ve never seen him before in my life,” Magnus says, his accent different. He stands and walks closer, leaving what appears to be an unconscious girl behind him in the alley. Magnus scans Alec’s face, as if truly unsure of his identity.

            Alec narrows his eyes at Magnus. This had better be some prank, or… Alec doesn’t know what. He searches Magnus for any signs of recognition, and the only clue he gets is on Magnus’s left hand. Or rather, it’s _not_.

            “Where’s your wedding ring?” Alec asks suddenly, his world becoming a lot smaller.

            Magnus just looks baffled. “I’ve never been married.”

            Which is a ridiculous thing to say, because they’ve been married for two years. They had an oddly orchestrated honeymoon and everything. Alec’s reaches for his own hand, just to make sure he didn’t dream it. But no, his ring is still on his hands and the marriage runes are still stitched into his skin. It’s just Magnus who…

            “Where am I?” Alec asks, suddenly very tired. He doesn’t have any idea what’s going on.

            “Just off of fleet street,” Tessa says. “London.”

            Angel. Magnus had made him jump continents, and if he’s got things sorted, time. This is going to be a mess.

            “And the year?”

            “1881,” Magnus says, looking at Alec very oddly.

            Alec sighs. It’s as he suspected. “That’s great.”

            “Look, we have to get this girl to the hospital,” the dark haired shadowhunter says. “But I think afterward, you had better come with us.”

            Alec nods. “Magnus called me here, though, so I need to stay by him until he portals me back.”

            “How strange,” the man says. Then he breaks into a grin, and it strikes Alec why the expression is so familiar. And why he wants to punch it a little bit. “I’m William Herondale. And you are a mystery.”

OOOO

            They head back to what appears to be the London Institute, though it’s changed a lot from how Alec remembers it. It’s funny how being displaced by over a hundred years can do that to a person. The skeleton of the Institute is the same, but the atmosphere is much different. Of course, it also smells worse, which Alec is coming to understand must be a hallmark of this time period.

            They don’t do much talking as they make their way there, Will occasionally pressing him for information. He tells the boy he’d once been threatened by that his name is Alec, and yes, he really is from New York even though his accent differs from Tessa’s. It’s a thing. Accents change with time, though Alec doesn’t let Will in on this fact.

            After spending the (rather short) walk back to the Institute with Will, he can’t believe that he thought Magnus was in love with him. Alec is clearly much less annoying, and much less like Jace. Besides, Will is far too in love with Tessa. He feels a little silly after meeting the man.

            The group of warlocks and shadowhunter take him to the office of the Head of the Institute. The location hasn’t changed from the last time Alec saw it, though the door has. Alec suspects the hinges that look ready to fall off. Someone must be fond of slamming.

            When they get to the room, Alec’s surprised by how similar the room looks on the inside. Bookcases still line the walls, though the globe in the corner is a surprise, and the desk in the middle is the same one that sat Greenich. Desks must last longer in London than New York.

            Behind the desk sits a woman that rivals Clary for small size. Her dark hair is pulled back from her face, and her eyes don’t wander from their position on the desk as they walk into the room. A couple of seconds later, she looks up, exasperation written on her face. Her expression changes when she sees Alec, her eyes narrowing.

            “Who’s this, Will?” Her voice is sharp, as if Will has brought in strangers before and the results have been poor.

            “Says his name is Alec, Charlotte,” Will replies.

            “Alec…” Charlotte says, an eyebrow raised, clearly expecting an answer from Will.

            “Alec Lightwood,” Alec says with a small smile. This is an odd situation, a first for him, but Charlotte is clearly in charge here and he owes her the courtesy.

            “I was under the impression all of the Lightwoods were currently residing under my roof,” Charlotte says. “And you look nothing like them.”

            Alec shrugs. “Genes change over time. I came with Will because he requested it, and I don’t know how long I’ll be here.”

            Charlotte’s dark eyes dig into him. “That’s awfully vague.”

            Alec scratches the back of his neck. “Magnus accidentally summoned me, I think. Eventually he’ll figure out I’m gone and summon me back.”

            Charlotte’s brow furrows. “Magnus is right beside you.”

            “Er,” Alec says. He gives 1880’s Magnus an apologetic look. “Yeah. _This_ Magnus summoned me here on accident, now I need _my_ Magnus to summon me back.”

            “You didn’t tell me there were two of you, Magnus,” Will prods. “I feel as though you’ve been holding back on me.”

            “This isn’t exactly information I have access to either,” Magnus admits. “I don’t know what he’s talking about. I’ve never met him before.”

            Alec purses his lips. “It’s just a thing you do, sometimes. This must be the first time you’ve done it if you’re so confused.”

            “But what did he _do_?” Tessa asks, rather impatiently.

            “He time traveled me back here,” Alec says sheepishly. “I’m from the early two thousands.”

            There’s silence in the room as everyone but Alec blinks a couple of extra times. It’s Magnus who finally breaks the silence.

            “So the world’s not going to end in 2000?”

            “Er, no,” Alec says. “Sorry.”

            “Wait,” Will says. “Is that why you recognized Tessa? She’s immortal?”

            Alec hadn’t even known that cat had been in a bag. He laughs awkwardly, and Will dismisses himself. Tessa follows after him, looking just as shocked.

            Charlotte sighs. “You don’t seem very disturbed by this.”

            “What exactly is our relationship?” Magnus asks at nearly the same time.

            Alec addresses Charlotte first, because he doesn’t know if Magnus wants him to address this question in front of company. Especially Shadowhunter company.

            “It happens from now and again. In my time there’s a bonding rune that gives downworlders and Shadowhunters access to each other’s abilities. It has some rather strange side effects. But Charlotte, if you wouldn’t mind, is there anyplace I could talk to Magnus privately?”

            Charlotte nods, a little reluctantly. “Magnus can find you to a room to speak in. He surely knows which ones are taken by now.”

            “Thank you,” Alec says, and turns to flash Magnus a small smile.

            Magnus smiles back, a bit confused and hesitant, and makes his way toward the door. He leads Alec through the hallways until they’re in an abandoned lounge. A lounge they’ve actually been in before, or. Well, will be in eventually.

            Alec sits down on one of the plush chaises. Magnus looks content to stand, unsure of whom Alec is, but Alec pats the seat next to him. The sofa sinks as Magnus sits, a solid three inches between them.

            “You asked who I was to you,” Alec says slowly. “I don’t know how much the people around here know about you, or how comfortable you’ve been in sharing with them.”

            “Is it scandalous?” Magnus asks, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

            Alec laughs. “Quite.” He lifts his left hand and sets it on Magnus’s lap. The inside of his wrist is showing the marriage runes scarred against his skin. His ring glints in the lamplight.

            “Er… What am I supposed to do with your hand? Not that it isn’t lovely, and obviously taken from all the markings on there…”

            “It’s strange to see you as the one squirming,” Alec says.

            “I’ll have you know I’m a very powerful warlock,” Magnus says, and there’s stiffness in his voice, as if he’s regained some confidence. This must be the post-Camille. The just-after that cut Magnus deep.

            “It’s taken by you,” Alec says carefully. “We have a son together.”

            Magnus looks absolutely struck. He looks like he doesn’t know where to start with the questions. “Warlocks are infertile.”

            Alec nods. “And we’re both men. Look, it doesn’t matter. You called me here, accidentally or not, because you needed me. So I want you to know, you’re safe. You’re loved. Or you will be.”

            Alec’s hand is on Magnus’s, and the eye contact they’re making has so many different signals. On Alec’s end, he’s trying to send as much support as he can. Magnus is looking at him with parts confusion, parts wonder and at least a little bit of hope. Magnus breaks their eye contact to look at their locked hands.

            “I never thought I would get married,” Magnus admits.

            “I know,” Alec says, leaning closer to his to-be husband. “But we kind of already had the baby and I think my sister was going to kill us if we didn’t set a date. We were already in it for the long haul.”

            “It’s good?” Magnus asks.

            Alec grins. “The best. I mean, we fight, and you’re always buying me these hideous scarves, but we always come out of it stronger. We’ve never fallen apart and not been able to piece it back together.”

            “And I love you?”

            Alec nods. “I love you very much.”

            Magnus sighs against him and closes his eyes. Alec wonders if this is what Magnus needed, why he called. He saw the way Tessa and Will gravitated towards each other, and how positive the atmosphere had seemed around everyone but Magnus.

            They sit like that for a long time. Alec doesn’t want to let Magnus go when he finally pulls away.

            “I don’t know you,” Magnus says.

            “But you will,” Alec smiles. “I can’t wait.”


End file.
